Statistics from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) indicate that road crashes account for about 33% of cases reported to the facility’s Accident and Emergency Unit.
This is according to Dr. Yaw Opare Larbi, Deputy Medical Director of KATH, who noted that while some accident cases are domestic incidents, the majority result from road crashes, often leading to fatalities.
He said that travelling on some Ghanaian roads has become increasingly dangerous due to rising road crash deaths.
“A little over 30 per cent of the cases that come to this facility, this Accident and Emergency Unit, are due to accidents, and most of the accidents, a few are domestic, but the majority of them are road traffic accidents,” he stated.
“Now in Ghana, we know that our statistics, a lot of our road accidents are from errors, driver errors, pedestrian errors. And then we know that we have some percentage that is attributable to maybe things like faulty vehicles or maybe road conditions, but a lot of the accidents are preventable.”
Dr. Larbi appealed to the government, through the Kumasi Mayor, to intensify public sensitisation on road safety and enforce traffic laws to reduce fatalities.
“It’s very important that we prevent these accidents, we minimise the occurrence of accidents so that the citizens of Ghana can go about their lives, doing their studies, engaging in their economic activities, contributing to national development. So we need to have a holistic approach to it. Every individual has a responsibility, and the state has a responsibility to reduce accidents.”
He further urged citizens to take personal responsibility for their safety:
“So I encourage everyone who sees me and hears my voice today that we should all take responsibility for our safety at home, outside the home, and wherever we are so that we can minimise the incidence of accidents.”
Dr. Larbi made the remarks during a donation event where the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, provided personal items and an undisclosed amount of cash to eight road crash victims at KATH, in commemoration of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
While urging the public to prioritise road safety, Kumasi Mayor Richard Ofori-Agyeman Boadi, popularly known as “King Zuba,” highlighted measures the assembly is implementing to ensure an incident-free festive season, including strict enforcement of transport regulations in the city.
He also confirmed that the ban on tricycle operations within the Central Business District will be strictly enforced and warned tricycle riders against overloading, noting that offenders risk arrest.
